{"id":34369,"date":"2021-11-11T05:00:31","date_gmt":"2021-11-11T11:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/?p=34369"},"modified":"2021-11-10T15:59:15","modified_gmt":"2021-11-10T21:59:15","slug":"politics-dial-up-intensity-at-oklahoma-school-board-meetings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2021\/11\/11\/politics-dial-up-intensity-at-oklahoma-school-board-meetings\/","title":{"rendered":"Politics dial up intensity at Oklahoma school board meetings"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"width: 100%; height: 200px; margin-bottom: 20px; border-radius: 6px; overflow: hidden;\"><iframe style=\"width: 100%; height: 200px;\" src=\"https:\/\/player.captivate.fm\/episode\/bfbb1451-a2c6-4995-b3f6-bc9c8545f141\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" seamless=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Jenks Board of Education had enough of the woman with the small dog.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The meeting room was full to the brim and thick with tension as the school board decided Sept. 9 whether to require masks in the district south of Tulsa.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In a crowd packed with residents opposed to a mask mandate, no one\u2019s jeers rang louder than those from a woman holding a<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.akc.org\/dog-breeds\/papillon\/\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Papillon<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in her arms. Finally, the board had security escort her out of the building.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cEvery one of you, shame on you,\u201d the woman yelled. \u201cYou guys make me sick.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As discourse rages nationwide over a lack of civility in school board meetings, Oklahoma school board members say the criticism they face has been noticeably more intense since the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cAbsolutely the dial has turned up,\u201d Jenks board Vice President Melissa Abdo said. \u201cI mean, the dial is elevated for sure.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And though no board members The Oklahoman and StateImpact Oklahoma interviewed recall any threats to their physical safety, unlike in other parts of the country, they reported more contentious and less constructive dialogue in their public proceedings.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">School boards across the state have faced angry crowds eager to shout down mask mandates, quarantine policies, and political issues that percolated down from the state and national level.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In Tahlequah, a vote on a school mask requirement was met with a chorus of angry heckling. In Edmond, a local mother said<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.oklahoman.com\/story\/news\/education\/2021\/11\/04\/edmond-school-district-superintendent-angela-grunewald-responds-to-parents\/6270448001\/\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the school board pushed Marxist views<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, as supporters cheered from their seats. In Stillwater, six parents took their school district to court over distance learning.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIt\u2019s been a no-win for at least a year and half,\u201d Tahlequah board member Chrissi Nimmo said.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In Jenks, the woman with a Papillon balanced on her hip marched out of the board meeting chanting \u201cshame on you\u201d with a taunting cadence often heard on a school playground.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The dog gave a flick of its tail as its owner exited to a round of applause.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To this day, the Jenks school board is unsure where the woman came from or whether she has children enrolled in the school district, Abdo said. The board members, who unanimously voted in favor of a mask requirement, never heard from her again.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe want people to come to our board meetings,\u201d Abdo said. \u201cWe want that engagement, even knowing that not everybody&#8217;s going to agree with our individual decisions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cBut you know, if you&#8217;re rude or disruptive and you&#8217;re disrespecting other people who are speaking, then no matter what your opinion is, you&#8217;re going to be asked to leave.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_34373\"  class=\"wp-caption module image aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 672px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-34373\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2021\/11\/ebe486af-8f09-4808-91ad-c5ae7ad8edfa-672x448.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"672\" height=\"448\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2021\/11\/ebe486af-8f09-4808-91ad-c5ae7ad8edfa-672x448.jpg 672w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2021\/11\/ebe486af-8f09-4808-91ad-c5ae7ad8edfa-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2021\/11\/ebe486af-8f09-4808-91ad-c5ae7ad8edfa-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2021\/11\/ebe486af-8f09-4808-91ad-c5ae7ad8edfa-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2021\/11\/ebe486af-8f09-4808-91ad-c5ae7ad8edfa-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2021\/11\/ebe486af-8f09-4808-91ad-c5ae7ad8edfa-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2021\/11\/ebe486af-8f09-4808-91ad-c5ae7ad8edfa-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2021\/11\/ebe486af-8f09-4808-91ad-c5ae7ad8edfa-620x413.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2021\/11\/ebe486af-8f09-4808-91ad-c5ae7ad8edfa-1620x1080.jpg 1620w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 672px) 100vw, 672px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">File photo \/ Courtesy The Oklahoman<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">People wait for the start of a school board meeting for Edmond Public Schools, Thursday, Sept. 9, 2021.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3><b>State expands criminal charges for meeting disruption<\/b><\/h3><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">During the Oklahoma Legislature\u2019s 2021 session, lawmakers broadened the state\u2019s ability<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.oklahoman.com\/story\/news\/2021\/04\/15\/oklahoma-governor-kevin-stitt-tackles-immunity-drivers-hit-protesters\/7220518002\/\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to file misdemeanor charges for interfering in public meetings<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It&#8217;s unlikely anyone has been charged under the broadened statute for disrupting state business, according to an analysis of online court records by Oklahoma Policy Institute Research Director Ryan Gentzler. The three defendants charged with &#8220;disrupting state business&#8221; this year were not accused of interrupting public meetings.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, some board officials say they\u2019ve noticed concerning behavior by a rare few.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Stillwater school board member Marshall Baker said some meetings in his district became so tense that he was relieved security officers were in the room.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThere have been times where I&#8217;ve looked twice before I left the board meeting at nine o&#8217;clock at night,\u201d he said. \u201cThere have been things said on social media that made me wonder, \u2018Is that a threat I should legitimately worry about?\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Baker served a term on the Stillwater school board before the COVID-19 pandemic. He left to pursue a job in another state and quickly returned. Once his family moved back to Oklahoma, he decided to run again, but since the COVID-19 outbreak, his experience has been different.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe first time I served on the board, it really was fun; it was celebrating kids,\u201d Baker said. \u201cThis time it&#8217;s not fun, but it&#8217;s much more important. I would say that&#8217;s the biggest difference that I&#8217;ve seen. It really feels like service.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Politically charged topics create more tension<\/b><\/h3><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Baker chalks up most of the negative behavior to some being \u201crationally irrational,\u201d a byproduct of both a divided nation and the deep concern parents have for their children\u2019s education.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Most topics that set his community on edge involved COVID-19 precautions, like virtual schooling, mask requirements and vaccinations.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But, political issues also created tension. Baker said school board discussions have strayed from student growth and academic outcomes to national talking points like critical race theory \u2014 a college-level academic concept on systemic racism that\u2019s not usually taught in K-12 schools.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">More ideological arguments like these have trickled down to the local level, said Shawn Hime, executive director of the Oklahoma State School Boards Association.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI think we have more political issues from society that are entering the school board room,\u201d Hime said. \u201cMasks or no masks, vaccines or no vaccines, and other social issues that are now at the front steps of the school.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When these national controversies, which Baker called \u201cflavors of the day,\u201d reach the local level, it falls on school board members to address them, drawing ire and passion from their communities.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For example, the state Legislature<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.oklahoman.com\/story\/news\/2021\/05\/07\/oklahoma-gov-stitt-signs-bill-censoring-race-gender-school-curriculum\/4989720001\/\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">forbade the teaching of certain race and gender topics through House Bill 1775<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> this year. School boards were then compelled to enact the legislation within their districts.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWhen they get to our bench, we have to put them in practice, and that\u2019s challenging,\u201d Baker said.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>School board conflicts become national controversy<\/b><\/h3><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An already politically charged discourse surrounding school boards reached a fever pitch on Sept. 29 when the National School Boards Association complained of threats against school board members and<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/nsba.org\/-\/media\/NSBA\/File\/nsba-letter-to-president-biden-concerning-threats-to-public-schools-and-school-board-members-92921.pdf\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">requested federal intervention from the Biden Administration<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland then<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/pr\/justice-department-addresses-violent-threats-against-school-officials-and-teachers\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ordered the FBI and federal prosecutors to meet with local law enforcement<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> across the country to discuss the \u201cdisturbing trend\u201d of harassment and intimidation against school board members.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Seventeen state attorneys general, including Oklahoma\u2019s John O\u2019Connor, said federal involvement would chill lawful dissent from parents.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;Parents have rights under the First Amendment, and our school boards should solicit and welcome parental input,&#8221; O&#8217;Connor said in an Oct. 18 statement. &#8220;Our schools will be better educators if they will listen to the parents.&#8221;\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The NSBA has since apologized for its Sept. 29 letter, saying there was \u201cno justification\u201d for some of its language, but not before multiple state school board associations cut ties with the national affiliate.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Oklahoma\u2019s school boards group didn\u2019t split from the NSBA, but Hime, the executive director, said he made his objections to the letter known. Any threats against a school board should be handled locally, not by federal officials, he said.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite school board meetings turning toxic nationwide, Hime said Oklahoma board members strive for open communication with their communities.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIt&#8217;s not wrong to have disagreements on what&#8217;s best for our children,\u201d Hime said. \u201cWe just always try to remember to disagree with compassion and respect other people&#8217;s opinions and then move forward with what&#8217;s best for the group.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_34374\"  class=\"wp-caption module image aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 672px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-34374\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2021\/11\/a1a7b5b4-2a06-498f-86b3-cff52d24f65a-672x448.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"672\" height=\"448\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2021\/11\/a1a7b5b4-2a06-498f-86b3-cff52d24f65a-672x448.jpg 672w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2021\/11\/a1a7b5b4-2a06-498f-86b3-cff52d24f65a-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2021\/11\/a1a7b5b4-2a06-498f-86b3-cff52d24f65a-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2021\/11\/a1a7b5b4-2a06-498f-86b3-cff52d24f65a-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2021\/11\/a1a7b5b4-2a06-498f-86b3-cff52d24f65a-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2021\/11\/a1a7b5b4-2a06-498f-86b3-cff52d24f65a-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2021\/11\/a1a7b5b4-2a06-498f-86b3-cff52d24f65a-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2021\/11\/a1a7b5b4-2a06-498f-86b3-cff52d24f65a-620x413.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2021\/11\/a1a7b5b4-2a06-498f-86b3-cff52d24f65a-1620x1080.jpg 1620w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 672px) 100vw, 672px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">File photo \/ Courtesy The Oklahoman<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mark Mann, Paula Lewis and Sean McDaniel during the Oklahoma City Public School Board meeting Monday, April 12, 2021.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3><b>Service for the \u2018right reasons\u2019<\/b><\/h3><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The very nature of elected school boards involves a certain level of politicking.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But it\u2019s \u201cregrettable\u201d that national talking points, like critical race theory, are considered educational issues, Abdo said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The complaints Abdo heard from parents pre-COVID \u2013 day-to-day concerns going on in schools \u2013 have given way to ideological debates.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Abdo said she hopes future school board candidates don\u2019t run for office because of political trends.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A focus on politics rather than students\u2019 needs could be a concern for future elections, Oklahoma City Board of Education Chair Paula Lewis said.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIf you had a big push of money and financing come in and you could switch the nature of our board, you could really undo things that we&#8217;ve really worked hard to get accomplished for kids,\u201d Lewis said. \u201cI do worry about that because contentious board meetings are disruptive to people&#8217;s belief in their district.\u201d<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Instead, Abdo said, she wants her fellow school board members to keep the children they\u2019re supposed to serve in mind as they make decisions. Luckily, many of those who she knows in Oklahoma are doing just that.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIt&#8217;s the people who are there for the right reasons, and that&#8217;s exactly who you want to be there,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p><p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This story is a collaboration between The Oklahoman and StateImpact Oklahoma.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Jenks Board of Education had enough of the woman with the small dog.The meeting room was full to the brim and thick with tension as the school board decided Sept. 9 whether to require masks in the district south of Tulsa.\u00a0In a crowd packed with residents opposed to a mask mandate, no one\u2019s jeers [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":209,"featured_media":34370,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34369"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/209"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34369"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34369\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34379,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34369\/revisions\/34379"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34370"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}